Thousands of Religion and Bible Scholars Come to San Diego

On November 17-20, thousands of scholars converge on San Diego to review the latest religion and Bible research at the 2007 annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature. Accompanying them are more than 120 publishers, whose displays will create the world’s largest bookstore specializing in religion and the Bible.

The meetings of the AAR and SBL annually draw more than 9,000 attendees.

This year’s 460-page program includes sessions on war and religion, the Bible and politics, religion in the movies, the Virginia Tech tragedy, sustainable ecology, contemporary Islam, archaeological findings and techniques, immigration, Mormon studies, and more than 500 other topics.

Regular meeting sessions take place in the San Diego Convention Center and the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina and Manchester Grand Hyatt hotels. Registration, located in the convention center, is required to attend the sessions and the publisher exhibits. The publisher exhibit hall will be located in the convention center.

Founded in 1909, the AAR is the world's largest association of scholars of religion. The AAR promotes research, publishing and teaching about religion in academia. The AAR neither endorses nor rejects any religious belief or practice. The mission of the SBL is to foster biblical scholarship. Founded in 1880, the SBL provides resources and conversation partners for those interested in the religions, literature, and history of antiquity as well as the uses of sacred texts throughout time. Both the AAR and SBL are based at Emory University.